size mismatch

Bears end Burkburnett's bid for crown

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News
Burkburnett's Andrew Runyon (21) attempts a shot over 3A State Finals MVP Raymond Robinson (23) of West Oso at the State Finals in Austin.

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News
Burkburnett's Jerard Graham (24) gets called for the charge against Corpus Christi West Oso's Raymond Robinson (23) with 1:14 left in the game, which finally pushed the momentum toward the Bears. West Oso beat Burkburnett 61-57 at the State Finals in Austin with Robinson named as the MVP.

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News
Corpus Christi West Oso's Willie Harper (25) takes the ball away from Burkburnett's Bryce Hollingsworth (31), resulting in a jump ball, during the State Finals in Austin.

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News
Burkburnett's Brent Deeb (5) drills one of his three 3-pointer in the Bulldogs' 61-57 loss to West Oso in the State Finals in Austin Saturday morning. Deeb led the Bulldogs' with 13 points during his six minutes of play.

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News
Burkburnett head coach Danny Nix (left) looks on as (10) reacts to the Bulldogs 61-57 loss to Corpus Christi West Oso at the State Finals in Austin Saturday morning.

AUSTIN — Burkburnett appeared to wear down West Oso in the first half of Saturday's Class 3A championship game.

But the Bears came out of their halftime hibernation with renewed energy and weren't to be stopped in the second half as they used the inside muscle of Raymond Robinson to rally for a 61-57 victory at the Frank Erwin Center.

West Oso (35-3) earned the school's first state championship in its 10th appearance. The Bears outscored Burkburnett 36-24 after halftime.

"I think in the second half their size got to us," Burkburnett coach Danny Nix said. "They got too many second and third chances. Our guys were really battling hard. But they had some tough, tough guys inside."

The toughest of them all was Robinson, who scored a put-back plus a foul with 47 seconds left to put the Bears ahead for good at 59-57. He made 10-of-18 shots, while the rest of his team hit 15 of 45, and earned the Most Valuable Player honor.

Burkburnett (33-4) lost the ball on a turnover after losing the lead and Robert Watson converted two free throws with 32 seconds left for a four-point lead. Previously with a one-point lead provided by Andrew Runyon's 3 with 1:49 left, the Bulldogs' Derrell Gibbs and Jerard Graham were both called for charging fouls.

It was two more chances that got away on a day where the fast break points for Burkburnett totaled just four.

"Offensively, we got out of sync a little bit," Nix said. "They played some terrific man defense. Outside of the point guard they are all about 6-foot-4. They could switch screens and it caused us a lot of trouble."

The Burkburnett bench outscored the West Oso reserves 31-0, led by Brent Deeb's 13 points. Runyon added 10 and Tyler Clement had six.

But West Oso just responded by not using the bench at the end. All five starters played at least 29 minutes and the Bears just got stronger at the end, especially on the boards.

"I looked over at my assistant a couple of times and asked him who I needed to take out," West Oso coach Arnold Flores said. "And he said nobody. This is the state championship.

"We told them at halftime that our post offense was nonexistent and we felt we could work the ball inside."

On the outside, Willie Harper added 17 points for Oso, including three of the team's four 3-pointers.

"In the first half I was tired, but we had to fight through if we wanted to win a state championship," Harper said.

Nix obviously thought rebounding, a 46-42 West Oso advantage, was critical, but he also praised the defensive work of the Bears.

Opponents who tried to play man defense against Burkburnett this year were usually left in the dust, even if they were nationally ranked or defending a state title.

But West Oso was tough to crack. They switched screens. They closed ranks at the rim. Five different players came up with a blocked shot, and Harper had five steals.

"We had blown by everybody we played," Nix said. "Give them credit. They played some excellent defense in the second half.

"We wanted to get the game more up-tempo and get into their bench, but we couldn't quite get over the hump."

Burkburnett was just short for the second time in four years, falling to Kennedale in overtime in the 2008 Class 3A final.

The rebounding difference was just Robinson for West Oso. Brandon Scott had a game-high 13 rebounds and Watson added 10. Robinson was third on his own team with nine.

Turnovers were a big Burkburnett advantage in the first half when it was a plus-seven and led 33-25.

But the edge was just three by the end of the day as West Oso made just six turnovers in the last 16 minutes.

And the rebounding edge wasn't as big as the ability to finish. Burkburnett had 17 offensive rebounds, one more than West Oso, but the Bulldogs lost the second-chance category 20-14.

"It was rough down there," Burkburnett senior post Michael Elphick said. "They had some big dudes. They were both my size (6-4) or even bigger. It was hard to grab rebounds over them and it was hard to secure it."

Elphick did grab a team-high nine boards and had a blocked shot at the three-minute mark.

Graham added 12 points to lead the Burkburnett starters as he kept trying to find his midrange touch. He did find his teammates with a game-high five assists. Graham got an eight-foot jumper to drop at the end of the third quarter to give the 'Dogs a 45-44 lead, but the Bears had the momentum.

Derrell Gibbs, who played in two state finals in four years, had six rebounds, four steals and four points. He went from a sixth man who was used as an athletic inside presence as a freshman to point guard and team leader as a senior. He played in four regional tournaments and two state tournaments.

"I will always remember every year I've been here," Gibbs said. "It's been the most fun times of my life. I won't forget any of the players I played with. It's been a great time and I'll never forget it."